Going B2S with Clark the Shark

Many of my teacher friends are headed back to school next week. Students in my district begin on Monday.  We'll spend the first few days getting acquainted, building relationships, and learning classroom procedures and rules.  I found a gem of a read aloud that is perfect for the beginning of the school year.  

Story Overview:  Clark zooms into school, crashes through the classroom, and is rowdy at recess.  He loves life—but when his enthusiasm is too much for his friends, Clark's teacher helps him figure out a way to tone it down.

Lesson Idea:  Clark the Shark is a great book choice for launching a conversation about classroom rules. After reading the story, explain to students that classroom rules are made to keep us safe so we can learn. Ask students to brainstorm rules that they think are important.  Make a list on chart paper. 

Activity: Each student chooses a rule from the list.  They illustrate and write about the rule on their “Stay cool and follow this rule!” sheet. These student pages can be bound together to make a class book. 

Click {here} to download the Clark the Shark activity.  I'm offering it as a back-to-school freebie.  If you find it useful, please leave a little love in the "Ratings and Comments" section of my TpT kiosk.  Happy Friday!

One School, One Book

Does your school participate in One School, One Book?

Imagine your entire school community (teachers, staff, students, and families) all reading the same book at the same time. That’s what One School, One Book is all about.  The program was originally designed to promote reading in elementary schools, but the concept caught on quickly, and now many middle and high schools are also participating in One School, One Book initiatives.

Here's how it works... Schools choose a book that will appeal to their student population. Every student in the school is given a copy of the book to read. (Our PTO funded the program.) Next, students read the book at home over a designated period of time. They are encouraged to share the experience with their families by reading the book together. Then, back at school teachers organize activities to promote and enrich the shared reading experience.

My school is participating in *a slightly altered version of* the program. Our teachers decided to choose one book for each grade level. The change was made so that students would have a book that was more closely matched to their reading ability, in hopes that students would do more of the actual reading themselves. We held a special "Oprah's Big Giveaway" style assembly last spring to reveal this summer reading challenge and hand out the gift-wrapped books. Students were bubbling over with enthusiasm!

Now that the school year is underway, teachers are using the book and the coordinating activities to build a sense of community within their classrooms.

Books we chose:



First Grade - Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't)



Second Grade - A Weekend with Wendell

Third Grade - Donavan's Word Jar




Fourth Grade - Frindle




Fifth Grade - Powerless


I'll keep you posted on the progress of this initiative throughout the school year, so check back frequently. :)

For more information about the One School, One Book program, visit the Read to Them website. Read to Them is a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging parents to read to their children.